The ideal ground cover for a Japanese garden is moss. Growing on rocks,
between paving stones, over logs and around stone wash basins, these
tiny plants create the feeling of age and permanence that the Japanese
admire. Their rich colors and velvety textures have made them a favorite
of Japanese landscape designers, who have collected and cultivated them
for centuries, drawing upon hundreds of different kinds. There is a moss
for almost any moist location. As a group, they withstand heat and cold,
grow slowly and live a long time; some moss gardens in Japan are hundreds
of years old.

True mosses grow 1/16 to 24 inches tall. They have many tiny flat leaves
and stems that are often too closely packed to distinguish. The leaves
expand when wet and close up when dry. Thousands of plants bunch
together to make a patch of moss. Like ferns, mosses grow from spores.
The spores develop green threadlike branches called protonema, which
push into the ground and eventually develop leaves. The plants do not
have true roots but attach themselves by tiny rootlets to the material
on which they grow. By absorbing water, mosses allow moisture to soak
into the ground gradually and help enrich the soil when they decay.

HOW TO GROW. Mosses grow throughout the United States. Most do best in
open shade, where there is some sun in the morning and late afternoon,
but a few kinds tolerate deep shade. All thrive in very moist, fertile
soil. The easiest way to acquire moss for the garden is to transplant a
strip from your own or a neighbor's woods; few nurseries carry mosses.
If possible, lift the moss attached to part of the material on which it
is already growing; otherwise gently remove moss with a wide knife,
tearing as few of the threadlike protonema as possible. Press the strip
into muddy soil on rocks or at the base of trees. Keep moist but not
soggy; too much moisture without sun will cause the plants to develop
mold. If the leaves dry out, plants are revived by soaking with water.

Moss Milkshake

STARTING MOSS WITH A MILKSHAKE

Moss gives a garden that prized feel of autiquity. Even bright new
brick patios and walkways acquire a patina of age when moss sprouts
betweem the cracks. Unfortunately, if you wait for moss to show up
on its own, you may be waiting a long time. Hasten the process along
by mixing up a moss milkshake. Start with a clump of moss from your
own yard (check moist, shady areas to find a likely patch) Crumble
the moss into a blender and add buttermilk and water in equal parts.
Process on "Mix" until the concoction is well blended. If it's thick
like pancake batter, add some water and thin it to cream-soup
consistency. Pour your moss milkshake wherever you want moss to grow.
Keep moist and soon the bits of blended moss will regenerate into
whole roote plants and colonize the area.

For those of you that want to grow the moss on clay, or cement pots,
or on statuary items to give them that aged look, use the above
receipe, but instead of pouring it on you would paint it on with a
paint brush, with the same after care as above.